Salalah wows visitors even before advent of Khareef

SALALAH, June 6 – Cyclone Mekunu has made Dhofar colourful and stunning before the advent of Khareef. The cyclone did make lots of noise but left many things for the visitors, to behold and indulge. It has left behind a strong combination of rage and tenderness of the nature. The rage has put a huge task of rebuilding many roads and bridges in front of the authorities in Salalah, while its tenderness is all pervasive all over in the forms of greenery, waterfalls and springs which are the identity of Salalah during Khareef. Same lot of people, who were the victims of the cyclone a couple days back, are seen running towards those sites to have a glimpse of the nature’s beauty which has erupted suddenly.

No one would have seen so much of water in decades falling from Darbat heights and merging into the canal called Wadi Darbat, which is also a signature tourist spot of Salalah. And the gushing water is an assurance for all kinds of prospective visitors during the ensuing Eid holidays or during the season Khareef that it would be a scene to be seen for many months. The approach to Wadi Darbat has been affected, but that is not an issue due to the fact that one really need not go near the Wadi to have a glimpse of waterfall caused by the massive flow of water. It is visible from quite a distance.

Not only Wadi Darbat, many other waterfalls have emerged around Salalah. Some insignificant spots have also become important and many people are seen visiting even a place like Ain Gogob. “The beauty of the place is worth seeing as I have never seen so much of pure water flowing in Ain Gogob,” said Sandeep Ojha, a keen traveller and trekker of tourist spots. His friends call him an encyclopedia of tourist sites in Salalah.Similar is the case with Ain Arzat in the east and Ain Garziz in west of Salalah. Water at both the springs is overflowing. Some approach issue is there with most of the sites, but the municipal authorities are confident to do the job before the season.

Khareef season starts from Dalkhout then it travels to Rakhyout and finally to Salalah. This correspondent had to abandon his journey from Salalah to Dalkhout on Tuesday, due to heavy fog and near zero visibility at some places. At several points the fog and clouds were mixing with each other making the drivers, particularly those not familiar with the route, difficult to manoeuvre the curves. It is every year phenomenon that the news of drizzling in Dalkhout, 160 km west of Salalah, circulates through social media and by the evening everyone starts talking about the advent of Khareef. If that’s the case with Tuesday’s trend, advent of Khareef season to Salalah is not far and people here should be ready to greet the guests and the season with traditional warmth and hospitality.